It looks like every stylish rider, especially on rails are pretty small ; kevin henshaw, Raph and Olivier derome, marc rossiter, kim Yongil, keith Lyman,... I can't really think of any big rider that got some mad style on rails..?

i've never heard anyone say hennie or lyman being small. maybe they're shorter than 6-footers, sure, that makes them small. but you either have style or you don't...whether you're short or tall. last i checked, harf, lyman, hennie, reggs, vandall...none of them are short.

he's got a point though, its not that if you're tall you can't have style, but its a lot harder to pull it off. I can't speak TOO much for wakeboarding style because I don't have enough skills to add style to haha. but for snowboarding, watching videos of me and others hitting rails or big air, its definitely tougher for us 6 foot and up guys to make something look stylish. Just something about longer legs/arms that makes it look odd. Kaesen Suyderhoud is a prime example: http://vimeo.com/8547912. I dont know for sure how tall he is, but he doesnt look small and he's got some serious style. plus he's got the whole gangsta steez style goin for him on the rails which always helps

I agree w/ Ben. Stylie riding is possible for taller guys, but harder to pull off. The added height (longer arms/legs) exagerates every move you make. So any flail or lack of control will appear amplified vs. a rider who is 5'6". Now having said that, a taller guy who is smooth and pokes grabs well can look almost more stylie IMO for the same reason, you notice the poke more.

I think it really depends on the way people are built. a 6'2 150lbs guy is going to have a hard time making anything look good, but if you pack some muscle on that 6'2" guy and make him more like Rusty or Rathy, he wont look nearly as goofy.

I think it has something to do with the stance as well. Wider stance help to get a good style and a short guy will have it wider; I bought a ronix bill 2010, and the widest stance is still way too narrow (I'm 6'1")

Here's to the Big Boys! I am 6'3" I like to think I have style, really in the last five years that is all I have focused on in my riding, making it clean and effortless looking. Hold Grabs longer, go bigger.

As for rail riding I have to agree with the Kaesen Comment that boy is SO SICK on rails and def not a little dude.

I know I'll prolly get flamed on for this comment.... but I think Darin Shapiro could have one of the worst styles of all time. He goes huge and is a great wakeboarder... but a style master he is not. My homies and I call his tootsie the "boner roll" because as soon as he pops off the wake his legs go so stiff he looks erect hahaha.

AL, I disagree with you 100%. I think Shapiro has awesome style. Unfortunately, when you're no. 1 for as long as he was, then haters (i.e. you and your homies) say he has no style. It's the same deal with Soven. I even noticed it with Parks back in his heyday, although it seems he's mostly escaped from it now.

Hahaha... sorry Norbi. Me and Jeff are coming to hang Wakegames weekend And Jon!!!!!!! See ya next Friday homes. Stoked on shredding the cable with ya.... See you then brodeo!

Josh... I'm just sayin bro, when I think of style I think of guys that are super smooth and poke the hell out of everything like Benny G, Lyman, Harrington, etc... I'm def not thinking Shapiro. Dude is a rad wakeboarder and has a few stylie tricks for sure but he can't be put in the same sentence as those guys as far as steeze is concerned.

hahaha, I love it when these threads go up about style then there's someone who is brave enough to jump off the bandwagon and says a legend doesnt have style, then someone else puts up a picture of that rider pokin a grab! lol classic and very typical.

Idk why people get so butt hurt when someone says that a pro doesnt have style. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and if alwake and his homies think that shapiro doesnt have style then great. Alwake didnt say shapiro is a bad rider, in fact he admits to shapiro being a great wakeboarder. Im sorry but a picture of someone pokin their grab doesnt justify if someone rides with the social standard of "style". Every single pro and a lot of weekend warriors could prob poke a few grabs (especially pros). But that doesnt mean that they consistantly ride with style and make that ruitine in their everyday riding. I guarantee you that rusty can throw style into his riding but he doesnt for his own reason, idk, maybe he just wants to be different that a lot of the pros out there, which he is. Im sure someone can find a shot of rusty throwing style but the guy is just known to not ride with style. Soooo nice pic of shapiro but that isnt the "nail in the coffin" that says shapiro rides with style.

^^agreed, there was a kid i rode with in kentucky this last year and we were just freeriding, you could tell all he did was ride contest cause he put on his board, got in, put down a contest run without falling, let go and got back in the boat. The kid didnt even look happy that he was riding that day. to me people who have this "style thing" are the guys who LOVE to be on the water and ride because its their time to be themselves and do the things that make them happy.

To say that Shapiro doesn't have style is utterly ridiculous. It would be much more appropriate to say that he doesn't have a style that YOU like.

Regardless, the pic that Umali posted surely doesn't prove that Darin has style. In fact, I think it's kind of silly to see him doing a trick like that. SHAPIRO HAS ALWAYS HAD HIS OWN STYLE: Going HUGE and laying down technical tricks... at the same time. The guy is an incredible rider and has always rode his own way. NOBODY can do a Skeezer out into the flats like Shapiro. Or a tantrum to blind. Or a Fruit Loop. Or a heel (Stale) front to blind. Etc.......

Aside from Doug Homan (I haven't seen pics/video but I believe him), NOBODY has EVER pulled a double front. Even Parks. That is an insane trick and has tons of style. Style in the sense of a Pete 5 from Byerly? Hell no. But it is unequivocally intense, technical, and takes a set of balls that few have.

The people that say Shapiro has no style are the people that only prefer one style. The "snowboard/skate" influenced style. In a big way, I am part of this crowd. I started wakeboarding back in '95 when I was 12 years old (Wake Tech Special Edition Graphite Reinforced Flight 69 WHAATTT?!?!) I didn't have the internet back then; and even if I did, it wasn't a semblance of what it is today. So, naturally, the mags were my only source of news and I pored over them with vigor, soaking up everything that I could. Just like with any "news" outlet, drama was heavily promoted: East Coast versus West Coast. Florida versus California. Trick ski style versus snow/skate ("So long Skiboarders!"). The "New Crew". It was ridiculous; yet I bought into most of it at the time.

Like I said, I prefer the "snow/skate" style (if that helps you to define it in that sense). Byerly, Schmaltz, Gator, CC Roberts, Greg Nelson, Sara Cline, Randy Harris: These are a small list of my favorite riders. These are the ones I prefer to watch. They have their own original style and do things differently than ANYONE else. I like watching Darin for the same reasons.

THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN STYLE. They don't copy anyone and ride their own way. Their styles are distinct.

I don't want everyone to ride just like Byerly. Or Schmaltz. Or Harris. Etc....